GULFSTREAM NOTES

By David Joseph —-

Promising Sophomores Irish War Cry, Painter’s Rags Breeze Sunday
Racing Resumes Wednesday with Carryovers in Rainbow 6, Super Hi-5

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Irish War Cry and Painter’s Rags, a pair of promising undefeated colts trained by Graham Motion, began preparations for their 3-year-old debuts by breezing a half-mile Sunday morning.

Working together, Irish War Cry and Painter’s Rags breezed four furlongs in 48.95 seconds at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach. The time ranked fourth of 28 horses at the distance.

It was the first work for both horses since arriving in South Florida earlier this month from Motion’s northern base at the Fair Hill Training Center in Fair Hill, Md.

“We had a little bit of a quarter crack issue with Painter’s Rags that we dealt with when we got down to Florida, but I’ve been very happy with them,” Motion said. “I was down there last week and got to see them, and I’m told things went very well this morning.”

A chestnut son of Hall of Famer Curlin, Irish War Cry was bred in New Jersey by owner Isabelle de Tomaso. He rallied from far back to win his Nov. 11 debut by 4 ½ lengths going six furlongs, then returned with a gutsy, front-running nose win over O Dionysus in the seven-furlong Marylander Stakes Dec. 31. Both races came at Laurel Park.

Painter’s Rags, owned and co-bred by Chadds Ford Stable, is a bay son of 2012 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Union Rags that came from mid-pack to capture his unveiling by a length going one mile Dec. 26, also at Laurel.

“I’m excited about both of them, for sure,” Motion said. “I couldn’t have predicted how easily Irish War Cry would have won first time out. I wasn’t at all surprised at Painter’s Rags; he’d always shown a lot of ability. Certainly they seem to be my two best colts.”

Motion said he has not picked out a starting spot for either colt, but expected to bring Irish War Cry back in a stake. Gulfstream’s series of races for 3-year-olds on dirt include the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull (G2) and seven-furlong Swale (G2) Feb. 4, the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth (G2) March 4, and 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby (G1) April 1.

“Painter’s Rags is eligible for an a-other-than, so that’s probably what we’ll do at Gulfstream,” Motion said. “Irish War Cry, we’ll look at the next round of 3-year-old preps around two turns. I’m a little reluctant to throw him in the deep end at Gulfstream off of two races, but we’ll see.”

Racing Resumes Wednesday with Carryovers in Rainbow 6, Super Hi-5

There will be carryovers in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 and $1 Super Hi-5 wagers when live racing returns to Gulfstream Wednesday with an 11-race program.

No one solved the Rainbow 6 Sunday, growing the jackpot carryover to $107,837. Multiple tickets were sold with all six winners, each worth $1,565.44.

The Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot is paid out only when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool. However, on days when a mandatory payout is scheduled, the entire pool is shared by those holding tickets with the most winners.

There will also be a Super Hi-5 carryover of $3,628.80 for Wednesday’s opener. First race post time is 12:35 p.m.

Who’s Hot: Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez and trainer Todd Pletcher teamed up for a pair of winners Sunday with Coors Lute ($6.80) in the third race and Ghalia ($3.20) in the fifth. Meet-leading Pletcher added a third victory with Adorable Miss ($11) in the eighth.

Rainbow 6 Carryover: $107,837.00
Super Hi-5 Carryover: $3,628.80

Gulfstream Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, and is one of North America’s top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world’s largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; XpressBet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets.